Welcome to the DBD, a W4C community forum where we talk about semi-random stuff - like leather couches, floral scotch whiskey, and baseball players who went to jail.
Or maybe you wanna talk about how Caeser Romero refused to shave his mustache, so his version of the Joker had white makeup painted over it.
Any Given Sunday was a bad movie. Al Pacino was really good in it. And his "game of inches" speech is perhaps the greatest football speech in movie history.
Went to TBB's neighborhood restaurant Good to Eat Dumplings for a Taiwanese tasting menu yesterday - it was pretty good (although not very good value BUT then I believe in supporting people's labor for money, and I assume that if the meal becomes more regular, the price will come way down) but the smells were amazing in the way they just brought me back to being in Taiwan. That combination of cilantro and sweet sauce on the ba wan dumpling* - even if the version in Taiwan is not among my favorite things to eat, this one was quite good.
*A dumpling with a wrapper made from rice and potato starch instead of a flour wrapper, so it may pre-date foreign colonialisation.
We had andouille sausages covered in a tasty tomato -onion sauce my wife made, with creamed corn as a side, and my daughter made toasted puff pastry cheese sticks to go with this. Paired with a 2017 Motor City Kitty Syrah -WA, good stuff.
Daughter made "Napoleon" dessert - which she had to start on Friday to have it done yesterday - damn it was really good, and better than the time she made it before.
In my continued exploration of Eastern Bloc spirits, I tried Xdar brand vodka. It reportedly is the #1 brand in Ukraine and it is fantastic. Cheap ($7/375 ml bottle), clear, clean, and really smooth. Dangerously smooth.
I went for Uyhgur food last night. I am learning a lot about the various cuisines of the Turkic tribesmen - from Uyghur, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kyrgyz cuisines. They are all share a lot of the same dishes. Historically, the Turkic tribes were horse-based nomads - so their cuisine is very simple: grilled meats, soups with meat broths and stuff thrown in it. And when they add dishes, it is borrowed from other cultures that they trade with or visited. For example, one of the most popular dishes is "lagman" - a noodle-based dish. First of all, noodles are historically Chinese. Turkic language does have the letter L, so it is absolutely a borrowed word from Chinese lamian and the "L" sounds like it is combined with a hint of an r. So it's LragMAN. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that LragMAN = 拉面 = raMEN. It's essentially chop suey. It's noodles fried with pretty much anything but almost always in a greasy red chili oil.
There's a not very good book called 'On the Noodle Road' by Jen Lin-Liu where she tried to trace the noodle development along the silk road from China to Italy but ended up just eating a bunch of variations of polo/pulao/pilaf/pilau through Central Asia.
The uyghur version is polo - and it usually done with hand torn lamb.
I remember Batman as a first run TV show. I was 6 at the airing of its first episode and 8 when its last episode aired.
It was during this time that a lot happened in my very young life. My parents separated, then divorced. My mother remarried within a matter of days of the divorce.
I moved twice due to the separation and the remarriage. I also changed schools twice.
Well, Season 3 had Batgirl. But also the Biff! Bam! Pow! effects were done more cheaply, as inserted whole screens rather than superimposed on an existing scene.
Fantasy baseball brings you closer to players. I had Ugueth Urbina on a couple of my teams in the early 2000s. He went to jail for attacking guys with machetes and gasoline in 2005.
it is not remotely all aged in bourbon casks, and the sherry cask products have been on the market for more than a couple of years. Long enough that it took several years for me to finish a bottle of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, which really meant several years before I conceded that it was drinkable on ice.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw's first All-Star Game start will be a home game.
Kershaw, the longtime Dodgers ace, was named as the starting pitcher for the National League and will face Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan in the 92nd Midsummer Classic at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night.
"It means a lot," Kershaw said. "It means a lot to my family. We're excited.
"Hopefully," he added, "I don't screw it up too bad."
Obviously I meant as the starting pitcher. He is batting leadoff as the DH.
---
Kershaw's first pitch will be to Shohei Ohtani, the American League starter at designated hitter whom AL manager Dusty Baker said he thought about starting on the mound as well.
"There was consideration," Baker said, "but from the information we received from Ohtani's camp was that he probably shouldn't or wouldn't start. That's why we chose Shane."
I'd put all my money on Alonso. He trains for this shit. Going to be low 80s so won't be too hot. O/U on how many he hits out of Dodgers stadium. I'd guess 15.
A's hang on for a 4-3 win over the Astros, taking two of three from the guys of space town. Vogt was the hero with a sac fly for a run plus an RBI single.
I have an idea why someone might think it's a balk.
When the pitcher moves his back foot to the back of the rubber, he steps on the back of the rubber, straightens up, and then leans forward, towards the plate. The umpire must have deemed that to be the start of his pitching motion. Otherwise, I'm not understanding why a balk would be called.
Nope. In reviewing the balk rule, that may be why the balk was called.
Remember, there's a runner on third when the balk is called. If there's a runner on, the pitcher can tell the umpire he will pitch from the Set position, but he cannot then go into the Windup position. And if he makes a motion to step off, he must fully step off.
The pitcher stepped back from where he started without fully stepping off. His back foot went from being in contact with the *front* of the rubber to being in contact with the *back* of the rubber.
I think that this is probably where the balk call came in.
ICYMI: Giants on Friday vs. Brewers had one of the most improbable comebacks. Down 5-2 and face closer Josh Hader. Hader has given up 3 HR all season and the Giants proceed to hit 3 HR in the inning, including a walk-off granny.
Unbelievable. Still baffled - not necessarily by the come back, but the fact it came v Hader.
Hader did get blasted tho his last game out in Minnie, giving up a walkoff bomb to Jose Miranda, so he definitely hasn't been at his sharpest. Still.....
I turned off this game in the 8th to watch other stuff before going to bed. Didn't even check on the score until like noon the next day, assuming the Giants had lost. My jaw dropped.
So last week we watched The Lost City (not my idea) and I would rate it 12/19 WNB I thought it was supposed to be a Rom-com, the Comedy parts were 15/19, the Romance parts 8/19 - eh didn't quite work.
This week we watched The Bourne Identity - which was HELLA weird to watch a second time - it's a really great movie, but watching it the first time is entirely different than watching it a second time when you know the story (watched it because my daughter had never seen it).
The Bourne Identity is one of those movies that we'll watch again if we're scrolling and it is on. Probably can't put a number on the name of times... "Get some rest Pam, you look tired" is an oft used line in our house.
You must be really tired since that was Supremacy! (Landy isn't a major character until Supremacy and Ultimatum - also Ultimatum is one of the worst Ludlum books I've ever read - smart move by the film team to abandon everything except the title)
I think it’s well known, ya know, has the regulars, etc…but there’s only so much you can do with sandwiches, especially when you’re only open for dinner, as they seem to be.
I started and finished Station Eleven on HBO Max and it was fantastic! One of the rare times that a show adaptation is better than the novel. I highly recommend this show. Great cast, beautifully shot, fantastic story telling.
Oblivion (8/19, WNB). Really good special effects. However, the story is seemingly borrows scenes from a bunch of other sci-fi films but does them worse and doesn't make them all work together. It's a beautiful film but a bad story.
yup. surprisingly great film (and Tom Cruise does one of his best jobs being Tom Cruise).
I read the book upon which it is based. an obscure book for hollywood to find as the basis for a TC-starring blockbuster. and odd. they def sanitized it.
I remember seeing this in theaters and all I could think coming out of it was, "Yup, that was a movie." Like there just wasn't that much to recommend it one way or the other.
Defending Your Life (HBO, 10/19, WNB). I've never seen it before, but it doesn't age that well. It's a one-liner gag platform based on a high-concept premise of death being more like a courtroom than St. Peter's Gate. Cute and quaint, but the pacing and joke quality is not great. Someone said this was their favorite film, but whatever...
WestWorld (S1). Fantastic. It's the morality puzzles of The Good Place, the sex/violence of Game of Thrones, the android fantasy of BladeRunner, and some really great acting. It's a bit high concept rather than an amazing story, but I'm really really digging it. (19/19, HBO, WB).
Do yourself a favor and don't watch S2 or S3. Remember the show as the masterpiece that was S1. S2 has a couple highlights but mostly feels aimless while S3 felt like a waste of time. I gave up on the show and haven't bothered with S4, which just started recently.
S2 and especially S3 are a step down from S1. I think S3 especially suffers due to it being such a tonal shift in the series. I haven’t started season 4 but I plan on watching it and seeing how it all plays out.
Some convergence of Common Core rage and woke liberal brainwashing being used to justify Florida's recent purge of textbooks, including math textbooks.
Claus Oldenberg dies at 93. RIP. He's one of my favorites and I just saw his cigarette butts yesterday at the Whitney Museum on Friday.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2022/07/18/artist-claes-oldenburg-dead/
https://whitney.org/education/education-blog/oldenburg-fagends
The cupid's bow at the Embarcadero.
A fantastic acting job in a bad movie/series
Any Given Sunday was a bad movie. Al Pacino was really good in it. And his "game of inches" speech is perhaps the greatest football speech in movie history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzugjI0G2vM#t=18s
I remember liking Jamie Foxx in this too (probably the first non-sketch comedy thing I'd noticed him in).
DBD Cooking Academy
Went to TBB's neighborhood restaurant Good to Eat Dumplings for a Taiwanese tasting menu yesterday - it was pretty good (although not very good value BUT then I believe in supporting people's labor for money, and I assume that if the meal becomes more regular, the price will come way down) but the smells were amazing in the way they just brought me back to being in Taiwan. That combination of cilantro and sweet sauce on the ba wan dumpling* - even if the version in Taiwan is not among my favorite things to eat, this one was quite good.
*A dumpling with a wrapper made from rice and potato starch instead of a flour wrapper, so it may pre-date foreign colonialisation.
We had andouille sausages covered in a tasty tomato -onion sauce my wife made, with creamed corn as a side, and my daughter made toasted puff pastry cheese sticks to go with this. Paired with a 2017 Motor City Kitty Syrah -WA, good stuff.
Daughter made "Napoleon" dessert - which she had to start on Friday to have it done yesterday - damn it was really good, and better than the time she made it before.
In my continued exploration of Eastern Bloc spirits, I tried Xdar brand vodka. It reportedly is the #1 brand in Ukraine and it is fantastic. Cheap ($7/375 ml bottle), clear, clean, and really smooth. Dangerously smooth.
I went for Uyhgur food last night. I am learning a lot about the various cuisines of the Turkic tribesmen - from Uyghur, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Kyrgyz cuisines. They are all share a lot of the same dishes. Historically, the Turkic tribes were horse-based nomads - so their cuisine is very simple: grilled meats, soups with meat broths and stuff thrown in it. And when they add dishes, it is borrowed from other cultures that they trade with or visited. For example, one of the most popular dishes is "lagman" - a noodle-based dish. First of all, noodles are historically Chinese. Turkic language does have the letter L, so it is absolutely a borrowed word from Chinese lamian and the "L" sounds like it is combined with a hint of an r. So it's LragMAN. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that LragMAN = 拉面 = raMEN. It's essentially chop suey. It's noodles fried with pretty much anything but almost always in a greasy red chili oil.
There's a not very good book called 'On the Noodle Road' by Jen Lin-Liu where she tried to trace the noodle development along the silk road from China to Italy but ended up just eating a bunch of variations of polo/pulao/pilaf/pilau through Central Asia.
The uyghur version is polo - and it usually done with hand torn lamb.
I was going to guess Lo-mein based on your description.
Caeser Romero's Joker
Batman's answering the batphone, and you're laughing.
Did he have an A in his name? Thought it was Cesar
Truth.
Best joker ever!
Heath Ledger's would be from a kid that got the "he was such a nice kid" neighbor interview.
His reminds me of the way a kid would draw the Joker.
I liked the campiness of the first Batman. It was certainly suitable for kids.
I remember Batman as a first run TV show. I was 6 at the airing of its first episode and 8 when its last episode aired.
It was during this time that a lot happened in my very young life. My parents separated, then divorced. My mother remarried within a matter of days of the divorce.
I moved twice due to the separation and the remarriage. I also changed schools twice.
Most of the country saw this on Thursday and Friday. Being in Fresno, I had to watch it on Thursday and Saturday.
Do you know how to tell whether an episode is Season 1, 2, or 3?
Well, Season 3 had Batgirl. But also the Biff! Bam! Pow! effects were done more cheaply, as inserted whole screens rather than superimposed on an existing scene.
correct!
That was only in Season 1
S1 and S2 had the Pow!s, but they were spliced in during S2 (for budgetary reasons, as noted above)
Baseball players who went to jail
Felipe Vazquez, Pirates reliever....awful.
Melvin Hall, sentenced to 45 years
Fantasy baseball brings you closer to players. I had Ugueth Urbina on a couple of my teams in the early 2000s. He went to jail for attacking guys with machetes and gasoline in 2005.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/news/story?id=2217517
Floral scotch
Glenmorangie LaSanta: finished in sherry barrels, which enhances some of its floral (citrusy, earthy/leafy) characteristics.
I have to admit I’m not a fan of whiskey aged in barrels for other types of hooch
Really? It's ALL aged in American bourbon casks as far as I know - and if in Sherry, it would be for the last couple of years generally.
it is not remotely all aged in bourbon casks, and the sherry cask products have been on the market for more than a couple of years. Long enough that it took several years for me to finish a bottle of Glenmorangie Quinta Ruban, which really meant several years before I conceded that it was drinkable on ice.
Hmmmm... Many not all is aged like that, but I think every single malt is, which is all I drink.
this is one of my current faves. Lightly sweet, just a hint of Scotchy smokiness, smooth as can be and totally delicious
But I haven't had Glenmorangie in ages - it was too light for my taste (never had LaSanta)
I love sherry-aged whisky!
Generally sherry aged is good.
Leather couches
Leather sofas are a must for our house- we are too messy for cloth!
You got an eclectic set of interests, SGBear.
PRO
Kershaw starting the ASG!
Los Angeles Dodgers' Clayton Kershaw, Tampa Bay Rays' Shane McClanahan starting pitchers for All-Star Game
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/34263663/los-angeles-dodgers-clayton-kershaw-tampa-bay-rays-shane-mcclanahan-starting-pitchers-all-star-game
Los Angeles Dodgers star Clayton Kershaw's first All-Star Game start will be a home game.
Kershaw, the longtime Dodgers ace, was named as the starting pitcher for the National League and will face Tampa Bay Rays left-hander Shane McClanahan in the 92nd Midsummer Classic at Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night.
"It means a lot," Kershaw said. "It means a lot to my family. We're excited.
"Hopefully," he added, "I don't screw it up too bad."
GBBR
GBBR
Meet the New Voice of Baseball
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/17/sports/baseball/joe-davis-all-star.html
Great article on Joe Davis, Dodgers TV play by play guy and Joe Buck's replacement at Fox for both college Football and Baseball.
I think usually the starting pitchers are announced earlier. I wonder if the MLB influenced Snitker.
I wish Ohtani could start for the AL.
Obviously I meant as the starting pitcher. He is batting leadoff as the DH.
---
Kershaw's first pitch will be to Shohei Ohtani, the American League starter at designated hitter whom AL manager Dusty Baker said he thought about starting on the mound as well.
"There was consideration," Baker said, "but from the information we received from Ohtani's camp was that he probably shouldn't or wouldn't start. That's why we chose Shane."
Starting at DH, Tungstan Arm Ohtani
Since 6/28, Angels are 3-13.
During the same span, Ohtani pitched in 3 games and is 3-0.
Ole' Tungstun Arm himself
Mariners on a 14 game winning streak. How about Mariners and Orioles in the ALCS. Manfred's head would explode.
Home run Derby tonight...Thoughts?
I'm interested in seeing how the ancient Albert Pujols fares against the younger guys
I'd put all my money on Alonso. He trains for this shit. Going to be low 80s so won't be too hot. O/U on how many he hits out of Dodgers stadium. I'd guess 15.
Waiting to see how Pujols does.
A's hang on for a 4-3 win over the Astros, taking two of three from the guys of space town. Vogt was the hero with a sac fly for a run plus an RBI single.
Yeah, that was awesome, defeat the cheaters!
ICYMI: Giants on Saturday win via a bases-loaded balk. This Brewers fan doesn't think it's a balk, but I do.
https://twitter.com/Seth_3773/status/1548520205537529857
I have an idea why someone might think it's a balk.
When the pitcher moves his back foot to the back of the rubber, he steps on the back of the rubber, straightens up, and then leans forward, towards the plate. The umpire must have deemed that to be the start of his pitching motion. Otherwise, I'm not understanding why a balk would be called.
oh I didn't notice he didn't completely disengage from the rubber. I thought he did step off.
Nope. In reviewing the balk rule, that may be why the balk was called.
Remember, there's a runner on third when the balk is called. If there's a runner on, the pitcher can tell the umpire he will pitch from the Set position, but he cannot then go into the Windup position. And if he makes a motion to step off, he must fully step off.
The pitcher stepped back from where he started without fully stepping off. His back foot went from being in contact with the *front* of the rubber to being in contact with the *back* of the rubber.
I think that this is probably where the balk call came in.
Looks like he moved his body just before stepping off. Barely and I wonder how noticable it would be in real time.
Balk off win! That's the second one in the last couple weeks.
Not really a balk-off, since it happened in the 8th inning.
What a shame
ICYMI: Giants on Friday vs. Brewers had one of the most improbable comebacks. Down 5-2 and face closer Josh Hader. Hader has given up 3 HR all season and the Giants proceed to hit 3 HR in the inning, including a walk-off granny.
https://twitter.com/BeerlyBaseball/status/1548336559937572866
Unbelievable. Still baffled - not necessarily by the come back, but the fact it came v Hader.
Hader did get blasted tho his last game out in Minnie, giving up a walkoff bomb to Jose Miranda, so he definitely hasn't been at his sharpest. Still.....
I turned off this game in the 8th to watch other stuff before going to bed. Didn't even check on the score until like noon the next day, assuming the Giants had lost. My jaw dropped.
DBD AV CLUB
Desus and Mero break up. :(
As someone who spent a lot of time on that site, I was never a big fan of their podcast or show.
You spent a lot of time on Vice and Showtime?
No, I spent a lot of time on That Site.
Rule of Tree?
I literally have no idea what you're talking about.
Finished The Terminal List Sat night. Really enjoyed the series and curious to see how season 2 goes (I assume there will be one).
I had a feeling the twist at the last 15 min would happen that way.
So last week we watched The Lost City (not my idea) and I would rate it 12/19 WNB I thought it was supposed to be a Rom-com, the Comedy parts were 15/19, the Romance parts 8/19 - eh didn't quite work.
This week we watched The Bourne Identity - which was HELLA weird to watch a second time - it's a really great movie, but watching it the first time is entirely different than watching it a second time when you know the story (watched it because my daughter had never seen it).
The Bourne Identity is one of those movies that we'll watch again if we're scrolling and it is on. Probably can't put a number on the name of times... "Get some rest Pam, you look tired" is an oft used line in our house.
You must be really tired since that was Supremacy! (Landy isn't a major character until Supremacy and Ultimatum - also Ultimatum is one of the worst Ludlum books I've ever read - smart move by the film team to abandon everything except the title)
Bourne merge is real!
Finished Dark Winds - we both liked quite a bit.
I started The Bear this weekend and I really like it so far. I have watched the first 5 episodes.
Great show...can't wait to have a hot Italian Beef sandwich in Chicago during the ND weekend.
That show brought back awful memories from my restaurant GM days, tho....zoiks.
Great show but I am confused about the restaurant. Is it successful? It seems to be failing but it also seems to be very busy.
I think it’s well known, ya know, has the regulars, etc…but there’s only so much you can do with sandwiches, especially when you’re only open for dinner, as they seem to be.
Also the debts! To shady people.
Watched the first episode of this and was hooked.
I started and finished Station Eleven on HBO Max and it was fantastic! One of the rare times that a show adaptation is better than the novel. I highly recommend this show. Great cast, beautifully shot, fantastic story telling.
Also watched the first episode of this and was also hooked.
Oblivion (8/19, WNB). Really good special effects. However, the story is seemingly borrows scenes from a bunch of other sci-fi films but does them worse and doesn't make them all work together. It's a beautiful film but a bad story.
I liked it well enough, it was a beautiful film. Not nearly as good as Edge of Tomorrow.
Edge of Tomorrow is 19/19, my favorite sci fi film of all time. Great action. Great premise. Great acting. Novel and well-written story line.
yup. surprisingly great film (and Tom Cruise does one of his best jobs being Tom Cruise).
I read the book upon which it is based. an obscure book for hollywood to find as the basis for a TC-starring blockbuster. and odd. they def sanitized it.
I remember seeing this in theaters and all I could think coming out of it was, "Yup, that was a movie." Like there just wasn't that much to recommend it one way or the other.
Defending Your Life (HBO, 10/19, WNB). I've never seen it before, but it doesn't age that well. It's a one-liner gag platform based on a high-concept premise of death being more like a courtroom than St. Peter's Gate. Cute and quaint, but the pacing and joke quality is not great. Someone said this was their favorite film, but whatever...
WestWorld (S1). Fantastic. It's the morality puzzles of The Good Place, the sex/violence of Game of Thrones, the android fantasy of BladeRunner, and some really great acting. It's a bit high concept rather than an amazing story, but I'm really really digging it. (19/19, HBO, WB).
Do yourself a favor and don't watch S2 or S3. Remember the show as the masterpiece that was S1. S2 has a couple highlights but mostly feels aimless while S3 felt like a waste of time. I gave up on the show and haven't bothered with S4, which just started recently.
I never finished season 1, but the chatter in my media discussion groups feels like season 4 is back, baby!
I never did
S2 and especially S3 are a step down from S1. I think S3 especially suffers due to it being such a tonal shift in the series. I haven’t started season 4 but I plan on watching it and seeing how it all plays out.
Well... shit.
I stopped after E3. Don’t remember why. Just that I didn’t dig it (which surprised me)
OUR CRUMBLING DEMOCRACY
WTF is this guy smoking?
https://twitter.com/FLVoiceNews/status/1547970192868683777
Some convergence of Common Core rage and woke liberal brainwashing being used to justify Florida's recent purge of textbooks, including math textbooks.
Project Veritas to face the truth in a defamation case against it.
https://lawandcrime.com/2020-election/project-veritas-must-face-defamation-suit-alleging-it-ran-fabricated-voter-fraud-claims-in-pennsylvania-judge-rules/
The deleted Secret Service texts will be submitted before tomorrow. The J6 Committee reconvenes its public hearings on Thursday.
https://thehill.com/policy/national-security/3563342-deleted-secret-service-texts-to-be-sent-to-jan-6-committee-by-tuesday-lofgren/
Pence endorses Robson for Arizona governor, colliding with Trump in key primary
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/07/18/pence-endorses-robson-arizona-governor-00046289
Elsewhere in college
Conference realignment slows as Big 12, Pac-12 may be realizing they're worth more together than apart
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/conference-realignment-slows-as-big-12-pac-12-may-be-realizing-theyre-worth-more-together
Above link doesn't work.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/conference-realignment-slows-as-big-12-pac-12-may-be-realizing-theyre-worth-more-together-than-apart/
thanks!
CAL
World T&F Championships: Camryn Rogers Wins Silver Medal in Hammer Throw
Rogers posts the highest finish ever by a Cal athlete at the World Championships.
https://www.si.com/college/cal/other-sports/rogers-world-track
Go Bears!!!